The purportedly landslide victory by Onaga is expected to cast shadow on the U.S.-Japan agreement to relocate the U.S. Futenma airbase from crowded Ginowan city in the prefecture to the less- populated Henoko area in the prefecture's Nago city.
In Sunday's election, Onaga beat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-supported current Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who overturned his opposition stance against the Futenma relocation plan and approved the landfill work in Henoko to construct a replacement for the U.S. key airbase last December.
Former upper house lawmaker Shokichi Kina, 66, and Mikio Simoji, a 53-year-old former state minister in charge of postal privatization also ran for the governor post on Sunday.
- Sentiment against U.S. bases runs deep in Okinawa, not only because the small island prefecture holds a bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan, but also for concerns over safety and noise after some U.S. military plane crashes and a series of crimes like rape and trespass by U.S. military servicemen.
Hiraaki Uema, a director in charge of publicizing Okinawan specialty, told Xinhua earlier the day that no U.S. airbase will be conducive to help boost local economy as the land used by U.S. bases right now could be used as business land that will create more jobs and help economy growth, adding that "self-reliance is better for the future of Okinawa, compared to relying on central government's assistance."
An extra by the Okinawa Times said that Onaga's victory reflected Okinawans' will that opposes the Futenma relocation plan, and the landfill works in Henoko will be affected. It also said that the future focus will be how the U.S. and Japanese governments deal with the public will in Okinawa and how the local government handles with new measures by the United States and Japan.
The Ryukyu Shimpo also said in an extra on Sunday that although the central government said the landfill project will not be affected by the election result, Onaga has said that he may retract the landfill decision and therefore, the future of Futenma 's relocation would become unclear.
china.org.cn - Xinhua
16/11/14
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Government continues Henoko base work, ignoring demand by Okinawa governor...
ReplyDeleteThe central government launched into an all-out battle with the Okinawa Prefectural Government on Tuesday, saying the prefecture’s order to halt construction work for the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is “illegal and obviously invalid.”
Based on the administrative appeal law, the Defense Ministry filed a complaint with the agricultural and fisheries ministry over the order that the prefecture had lodged with the ministry’s local bureau.
Farm and fisheries minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will examine the complaint and issue a ruling.
The ruling is likely to be followed by a lawsuit by Okinawa, as Hayashi, an appointee of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will probably rule in favor of the central government.
Gov. Takeshi Onaga on Monday instructed the local bureau of the Defense Ministry to halt work on building the replacement for Futenma off Nago in northern Okinawa Prefecture............http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/24/national/politics-diplomacy/government-continues-henoko-base-work-ignoring-demand-okinawa-governor/#.VRG9qY4YE9Q
24/3/15